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News

May 10, 2010

So what exactly was Teargas Recording Tree... and what is it now?

The Teargas Recording Tree collective was started in 2001-2002 by a bunch of Saskatoon musicians who were frustrated by the abundance of creativity in the local music scene that was not being documented and therefore not appreciated by anyone who was not in said scene. Bands tended to compete with each other for the same small audiences and there wasn’t enough sharing of musicians, gear, shows, etc., that are evident in a healthy music scene. The Teargas Recording Tree served as an umbrella that we could all work within, signifying that we are not only a part of the same scene, but are actively collaborating with each other and generally going in the same creative direction. The Robot Homestead studio was set up to record as many bands as possible and we released a 3-CD compilation (with fun fur packaging) called “For A Long Drive Under Living Skies” shortly afterward. The studio still exists today and has recorded some very key local albums over the past few years, including Ride Til Dawn, Blood Music, Dumb Angel, and Carbon Dating Service, among many others.

While this website has become less of a networking hub over the years, the collective is still going strong. This site was designed well before the advent of Myspace, SonicBids, Facebook, and Twitter, so the networking aspect of this site became obselete as soon as it became possible for users to upload their own content and make any changes they wanted when they wanted (instead emailing us changes to be updated manually) - not that it didn’t do a lot of good before this gradual change happened.

Since it is now so easy to communicate with any other band, this site has evolved into a home for Band Swap, an annual tradition that showcases how cooperative and collaborative Saskatoon’s music scene really is. It also serves as a record of notable events in Saskatoon’s music scene from 2002-2007 and many of the artists’ pages have links so you can see what’s current. The lack of news or artist updates on this site is not a reflection of a lack of activity in the music scene. The collective's tree logo still appears on many new Saskatoon releases and the music scene in Saskatoon right now is the healthiest that it has ever been. Local bands are touring like never before and many are getting international exposure.

Many of the bands listed on the site are still active and there is also a directory for bands that have broken up, as well as show posters for every show organized by collective members from 2003-2006. We started this site from the frustration of seeing great Saskatoon bands rise and fall with no fossil of their existence and even if this site remains unchanged for the next 5 years, we’re glad that those fossils can still easily be found.

For current events within the collective, please visit our Facebook page.

January 10, 2010

Band Swap 4.0 was huge success!

The 4th annual Band Swap at Amigo’s Cantina in Saskatoon this New Year’s eve was the best yet! There were amazing performances, fire alarms, and over $5400 raised for the Saskatoon Crisis Nursery thanks to generous donations from all in attendance and PCS.

Band Swap DVD (I & II) now available online…

Band Swap, an annual Christmas break tradition in Saskatoon since 2006, is now on DVD! This limited-run DVD includes all performances from Band Swap I & II, each of which has broken into chapters and edited to make this a fast-paced spectacle. Band Swap I is approximately 1h15 and Band Swap II (filmed in HD) runs 1h45, not including extras such as the selection process the night before.